The news that Julian Assange is seeking to register his name as a trademark will surprise those who imagine the besieged WikiLeaks founder might have grown weary of his infamy – and of lawyers.

Turning your name into a trademark is an increasingly common legal move for celebrities seeking to protect the commercial use of their name to sell goods and services. Everyone from Lady Gaga to Alan Titchmarsh has done it. The tactic can look more self-aggrandising when deployed by free speech campaigners or politicians, who supposedly move in less nakedly commercial worlds. But that hasn't stopped Sarah Palin and her daughter, Bristol, who are currently seeking to register their names as trademarks in the United States. "It's a bizarre thing for someone associated with freedom of information to do," says David Allen Green, head of media practice at Preiskel & Co and the New Statesman's legal correspondent.

According to Abida Chaudri, an associate of trademark attorneys Grant Spencer , however, Assange's application, through his own law firm, Finers Stephens Innocent, is "quite logical". "I suspect the application is more to do with his going it alone and using his WikiLeaks website to publish material, as opposed to somebody else pretending to be Julian Assange, which is probably unlikely," says Chaudri.

Assange is an internationally recognised figure, widely praised for his role in obtaining and leaking official secrets. He also has a distinctive brand because of his memorable name (there are no Julian Assanges on the UK electoral roll).

It can be harder to get a common name accepted as a trademark by the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) but trademark law ensures that if there was a masseur from Edinburgh called Julian Assange, he could continue to sign his name, even if the other Julian Assange was successful in his application. Another clause allows for "honest concurrent use" so Assange Masseurs, if it existed, could continue to trade.

There are plenty of infamous and unfamous people who have trademarked their names, including Tecwen Whittock, the coughing academic convicted in 2003 of helping Major Charles Ingram cheat his way to winning £1m on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? But if every Z-lister gets their name trademarked these days, celebs can always play a new game – competing for how many of the IPO's 45 different categories, covering every conceivable use of a trademark, they are protected under.

As Gillian Davies records in her paper, The Cult of Celebrity and Trade Marks, Catherine Zeta-Jones registered her full name under the IPO's "entertainment services" classification. Robbie Williams's registration featured four different classes of use, covering video, film, sound recordings, books, calendars, posters and clothing. Jamie Oliver registered his name in 11 different classes - but Alan Titchmarsh has trumped him with 12.

Modern celebrities put their names to a huge range of products, which gives them legal protection if their names are exploited on counterfeit products or used to endorse goods or services that have nothing to do with them.

Court cases hearing of the infringement of individuals' trademarked names are rare in the UK, which is either a sign that the law is a useful deterrent or that lawyers are making easy money. Many celebrities, such as David Beckham, take an even more thorough approach, filing for a "Community Trade Mark" in Alicante, Spain, so their name will be protected in all 27 EU countries. But that kind of application is more likely to receive objections from third parties.

Cynics who imagine Assange is seeking to profit from the production of Hacker Hunks 2012 calendars or silver-haired Assange dolls (ideally with swivelling "hawk eyes") are wrong. Mark Stephens, Assange's lawyer, says the applications to trademark Assange and WikiLeaks have been made in a "not for profit" category, unlike many celebrities.

"It's not about restricting free speech," says Stephens. "It's not that he's out there trying to make huge amounts of money. It's about protecting himself from being associated with things he doesn't know about or approve of." There have already been examples of merchandising, such as T-shirts, produced without Assange's assent, although Stephens does concede that is "not a big issue".

Assange's lawyers have sought to register his name under just one class, the same "entertainment services" bracket as Zeta-Jones. Within this classification, Assange is seeking to protect his name in public speaking services, news reporter services, journalism, the publication of texts other than publicity texts, education services and entertainment services. Like every case, his applications will take up to eight months for the IPO to determine.

It suggests that, whatever the fate of his legal fight over extradition to Sweden, Assange is determined to be the very public face of dramatic computer leaks for a while yet, and determined not to let new rivals, such as OpenLeaks, steal his thunder. Critics who view such attempts to trademark an individual name as the ultimate act of self-love may smile at the date when Assange's lawyers filed his application: Valentine's Day of course.